Our Community: The Nepal Initiative
In this instalment of Accela’s “Our Community” series, we’re featuring The Nepal Initiative – a non-profit organisation driving to improve children’s welfare in Nepal. The Nepal Initiative is led by James Dauman, a private equity investor and corporate finance advisor based in Singapore, who Accela have had the pleasure of working with across multiple projects. In 2010, James went on an Everest base camp trek to Nepal and fell in love with the country, leading him to help create a platform with a long-term, sustainable impact.
Tell us briefly about The Nepal Initiative concept?
The Nepal Initiative is the result of 10 years of charity work that myself and my wife, Charlotte, and I have been doing in Nepal. The initiative focuses on education-related projects such as building schools, supporting housing and food for children, and working on developing an online learning platform to improve their education. The initiative has recently been formalised into Company limited by Guarantee in Singapore, which will allow us to better fundraise for our causes.
Can you tell us a bit about how the Nepal Initiative began and describe how you launched it?
In 2010 I went on the Everest base camp trek and spent some time in Nepal. I completely fell in love with the country its magical environment and incredibly welcoming people. A Nepalese friend and I discussed how to put together a project to build a library in his village. This was our first project, and the library is still there today.
In 2015 the Nepal earthquake occurred, devastating the country, resulting in thousands of deaths and the destruction of an already lacking infrastructure. We felt it was important to increase our charitable efforts and got together with a good friend of ours and formalised the initiative in 2018.
What is your biggest project currently?
Our main project currently is to build a new school. We have partnered with another local organisation, Kids of Kathmandu, to help achieve this. The school will be located a few hours outside Kathmandu. We are hoping to build two new classrooms, a computer lab and provide clean filtered water.
How can we help?
Of course, monetary donations always help. You can donate directly through our website https://www.thenepalinitiative.com/donate/. However, I want to highlight other ways you can get involved:
A “mentoring” sharing experience, just giving time to share about your profession. For example, one of our friends who is a General Practitioner facilitated a three-hour zoom clinic with the children. We would encourage people from any profession to share their experience, as the children don’t have exposure to many available careers.
In normal times, we also offer regular trips to Nepal with visits to the centre so you can match recreation with a purpose. You have the opportunity to meet the children and see the tangible difference that you’re making.
If you are interested in giving your time or joining us on a trip, please e-mail me directly at james@thenepalinitiative.com.
What have been the biggest challenges running the organisation?
In an emerging market, it’s challenging to find trusted partners in business. We have been fortunate to meet some fantastic partners (who have also become close friends) to help us maximise our impact.
Another problem we struggle with is choosing who to help. With the majority of the country living in poverty, it’s difficult to decide where the money should go when so many people are in need.
Finally, of course, the pandemic has badly affected the country and we have pivoted our immediate efforts to help provide relief here.
Whilst we struggle with the effects of a challenging economy here, COVID has hit emerging countries incredibly hard, due to the breakdown of logistics and lack of money from tourism, securing enough food for the children has been a challenge in itself.
Can you tell us a bit more about your first Singapore fundraiser, and any future initiatives planned?
We aim to have a large annual event to raise money. Our last fundraiser raised S$10,000. We work with Miss Nepal 2018 who had been an amazing ambassador for the initiative. We’re also looking to hold smaller events with around 10-15 people, and host talks around pressing topics to encourage fundraising.
Tell us more about your experience working with Accela Group.
I have worked with Accela with a number of different companies. Previously, I used to dread having to do anything with corporate governance. It was incredibly arduous and never made life easy, and on top of that, you were charged for everything. I view Accela more as a partner rather than a service provider. With having multiple companies, it’s much easier to work with one partner.
Anything else you’d like to share?
With the pandemic badly affecting the country, we need funds more than ever. You can donate directly through our website - https://www.thenepalinitiative.com/support-us. We also support a PayNow option with a QR code on our donate page. Our company is audited in Singapore so you can be sure your funds are going towards legitimate causes.
As an example of the emergency relief we are providing, several weeks ago, we were made aware of a woman who had Osteonecrosis, basically a rotten thigh bone, and required surgery. In just three days, we had raised enough money for her treatment. Any funds raised will go directly to help provide urgently needed healthcare treatments and food to the people of Nepal.
